Archive
Welcome! This blog will be dedicated to all things related to Home Automation – and more than a few that are not completely related as well, including DIY home improvement projects. The content you will find in this blog is
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There are lots of home automation technologies, products, and services out there. And while this blog is called HomeAutomationGuru, the technology that we’ll really focus on here is Insteon. I’ve always had an interest in Home Automation, and even bought
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As I’ve mentioned, Insteon is a powerful do-it-yourself type home automation system that trumps other options in many key areas. There are a couple of key features that are worth pointing out before diving into your own projects, so let’s
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Insteon is a very powerful system that can be as simple or as complex as you would like. Technically, you don’t even NEED a “heart” of your system at all. We discussed Insteon devices forming a “mesh network“, and because
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Now that we have the ISY-994i, let’s get started setting it up. Set-up is pretty simple with your existing network. Think of the ISY-994i as a tiny, low-power computer that bridges the gap between your home computer network and the
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Every journey begins with a first step. Now that we’ve set up the heart of our system, the ISY-994i, it’s time to start adding devices. Before we start replacing light switches or doing any complicated wiring, we can start with
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You’re on your way to setting up an Insteon network in your home! You have your ISY-994i as the central controller, and have set up an ApplicanceLinc to get your feet wet. Now it’s time to start planning for your
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Now that you’ve chosen the switch type that you need for a given application, it’s time to install it. Keep in mind that while you can do this yourself, hiring a qualified electrician is recommended if you’re uncomfortable doing this,
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We’ll spend some time on this blog on LED lights and Green Energy, but now that you’ve been introduced to the ISY-994i, set up synching with an ApplianceLinc, selected your Insteon switch types, and installed a new Insteon switch, let’s
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The K.I.S.S. Principle is pretty straightforward: Keep it simple, stupid. While it may be tempting to completely automate everything in your home, sometimes keeping it simple just makes more sense. For example, we’ve covered the $30 Insteon 8-watt light bulb,
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We’ve talked about the Insteon 8 watt light bulb, and how I’ve installed it in a driveway lantern that doesn’t even have a switch connected to it (and how maybe you don’t even need something this fancy). But let’s assume
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When we kicked off this blog, I told a story about the Home Automation Salesman touting that “Crestron was the Neiman Marcus of Home Automation”. But, hey, we’re Walmart guys, right? More expensive doesn’t mean better – so we chose
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As you improve your home with your Insteon network, another cheap and easy addition to your security system is a wireless security camera. Foscam makes a ton of different models, and they’re all pretty great products for the price. I
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If you’ve been keeping up with tech news lately, you’ve likely heard quite a bit of controversy about 3D-printing lately. But you’ve also probably heard about how 3D printing is the next industrial revolution. The MakerBot Replicator 2 is one
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I know you can make pretty much anything out of duct tape, and from its wiki page, just now learned that apparently it’s not actually good for taping ducts. When I moved into my house, I bought several rolls of
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We’ve talked about Insteon Scenes in the context of the ISY-994i and the MobiLinc software, but now let’s look into what they are and what they can do in more detail. What is a scene? At its core, a scene
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As we continue to add to our Insteon Network, let’s toss an Insteon Wireless Motion Sensor into the mix. This motion sensor operates on a 9v battery (which is helpfully included), is wireless, and can be unobtrusively mounted in a
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Let’s continue to expand on our list of Insteon devices with the 8-button Insteon KeypadLinc, of which there is also a 6-button model. You install these guys just like you would a regular Insteon Switch, and while there is just
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We’ll take a break from our regularly-scheduled programming now to talk about something that’s a little less glamorous than an Insteon-enabled Smart Home: drywall. If you’re starting to get serious with home improvement and automation, it’s inevitable that you’re going
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As discussed in an earlier post on the Insteon Motion Sensor, the most basic of setups for having a motion sensor control a light switch is through the use of a scene. You would create a new scene that included
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